Desk mobile lifter



y 1960 B. c. WINKLER ET AL 2,937,850

DESK MOBILE LIFTER Filed Nov. 50,

Inventors: BernardOW/nlf/er; EdwardEJasheh/ag Tfi fttorney- United. St Paten O ce 2,937,850 Patented May 24, 1960 DESK MOBILE LIFTER Bernard C. Winkler, Norristown, Pa, and Edward E.

Jasheway, Amsterdam, N.Y., assignors to General Elec tric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 30, 1956, see. No. 625,290

1 Claim. (01.254-8) This invention generally relates to devices for handling and transporting articles, .and more particularly to ing such a platform, at least two men standing at opposite sides are needed to lift the desk onto and oif of the platform; and in the event the desk or other article is 'of the executive variety, being unusually large or differently designed, three or more men may be needed for this task.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a uniquely combined article hoist and mover that is particularly well adapted for enabling one man to raise and lower such articles and to transport such articles from place to place with great ease and maneuverability.

It is accordingly one object of the present invention to provide a manually operated hoist and mover for more easily and quickly enabling one man to relocate bulky articles amidst crowded surroundings.

Another object is to provide such a device that is easily constructed, inexpensive to manufacture and use, and dependable in operation.

Still another object is to provide such a device that is safe, dependable, and easily maneuverable.

Other objects and many attendant advantages will be more readily comprehended to those skilled in the art upon a detailed consideration of the following specification taken with the following drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view depicting one preferred embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating the operation of this embodiment; and Figs. 3 and 4 are end elevation views illustrating the operation of this embodiment.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 for detailed consideration of one preferred embodiment of the invention, there is generally shown a foldable platform comprised of two planar sections 11 and 12 having complementary edges hingedly connected together .at joint 13. Each of these sections is provided on its underside with one or more universally mounted wheels 14 positioned remotely from the hinged joint 13.

As shown, both sections are preferably provided with a planar upper surface and each may be rectangularly shaped as shown whereby as these sections are pivoted into horizontal alignment, they form a rectangularly shaped flat platform supported upon wheels.

Rigidly connected to one of these sections 11 is a foot lever 15, having a generally inverted L-shaped crosssection, engaging and overlying a portion of the upper surface and side edge surface 16of section 11. Foot lever 15 is preferably supported by section 11 near the hinged joint 13 and, as shown, a substantial portion of its length extends beyond the edge of section 11 for the purpose of overlying and engaging similar portions of the upper surface and edge of section 12 when the two sections are pivoted into horizontal alignment. When this occurs, it is observed that lever arm 15 serves as a stop preventing further hinging action of the sections in that direction. a

To lock these sections in aligned position and prevent hinging action in the opposite direction, a flat locking bar 17 having a downwardly formed lip portion 19 is rotatably connected at 18 to the upper surface of section 12, with the lip portion 19 extending beyond the edge of the platform section 12. When sections 11 and 12 are positioned in horizontal relationship with foot lever 15 overlying the top and edgesu rface 'of section 12, lock bar 17 may be rotatably slid over foot lever 15 in which position the lip 19 overlies the side of foot lever' 15 thereby locking the foot lever against upward movement and preventing any folding action between the two sections.

For ease in lifting articles, each of platform sections 11 and 12 is preferably provided on its upper surface with an upright spacer member 20 and 21 located at a position remote from the hinged joint 13 and preferably further remote from the joint 13 than the Wheels v14 on the underside of that section of the platform. As shown these upright members may each be a single rectangularly shaped bar or may be one or more differently shaped spacer members as will be apparent from the further portions of the specification below.

As shown by Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the operation of this invention in enabling one man to easily raise and lower bulky articles, such as a desk 22, is simple and straightforward. Initially as shown by Figs. 1 and 3, to raise the desk onto the platform sections, the sections are folded to lower the upright spacer members 20 and 21 and raise the hinged edge 13, all to assume a substantially inverted V shape. In this position the platform may be easily wheeled into the kneehole opening 23 of desk 22, with the spacer members 20 and 21 being positioned underneath the opposing drawer sections 24 and 25. Since wheels 14 are universally mounted, the desk may be easily wheeled in any direction either manually by means of the human operator grasping the conveniently located handle 26 fastened to foot lever 15 or by his sliding the platform under the desk by applying foot pressure to handle 26.

Once the platform has been properly positioned as described above and shown by Fig. 3, the human operator applies foot pressure to the upper side of foot lever 15 as shown by Fig. 2. Since foot lever 15 is rigidly attached to platform section 11 which in turn rigidly supports upright spacer member 21, the combination of these members forms a lifting lever with its fulcrum point being Wheel 14. The distance between extended foot lever bar 15 and fulcrum wheel 14 is preferably made considerably longer than a distance between upright spacer 21 and fulcrum wheel 14 whereby the human operator is given a mechanical advantage of 4 to 1 or greater in lifting the desk. As a result, he need apply only a foot pressure of less than 50 pounds, for example, to raise a 200 pound desk. Continued foot pressure by the human operator brings the two platform sections into horizontal alignment as shown by Fig. 4 and results in raising desk 22 off the floor and onto platform 10. To then lock the platform sections together in this horizontal position and retain the desk 22 wholly supported upon the platform, the human operator need only rotate lock bar 17 to overlie foot lever 15 thereby latching bar 15 to platform section 12 and preventing downward folding action of the sections.

Since the platform is supported upon universally mounted wheels 14, the desk may be easily and maneuverably moved in any desired direction, or rotated, by means of rope 27 or other handle means 26 suitably connected to the platform; or may be easily rolled by merely applying pressure to the desk top itself.

It is to be particularly noted that platform has no portion extending beyond the desk and consequently the desk may be easily maneuvered within spaces slightly larger than its own confines.

It is evident that many changes may be made by those skilled in the art in the shape, relative lengths, materials and other features of the preferred device disclosed above without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, this invention is to be con sidered as being limited only in accordance with the following claim appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

In a hoist and mover, a foldable platform having a first planar section and a second planar section, said sections having complementary edges hingedly connected together, each of said sections having universally mounted wheels positioned remotely from their hinged edge on the underside thereof, a foot lever rigidly connected to said first section and having an inverted L-shaped crosssection, said foot lever engaging and overlying a portion of the upper surface and side surface of said first section, said foot lever mounted on said first section adjacent to the hinged edge connecting said first and second sections so that a substantial portion of the levers length extends beyond the hinged edge of said first section to predeterminedly overlie and engage a portion of the upper surface and the side surface of said second section adjacent the hinged edge thereof when said first and second sections are pivoted into horizontal alignment, thereby said lever arm prevents further hinging action of said sections to maintain horizontal alignment, a fiat locking bar rotatably mounted at approximately one end thereof on the upper surface of said second section and having a downwardly formed lip portion at the other end extended beyond the edge of said second section, thus when said first and second sections are positioned in a horizontal relationship by actuation of said foot lever to overlie the top and edge surface of said second section, said lock bar is rotatably slid over said foot lever with said lip portion overlying the side of said foot lever to lock and prevent further relative folding action between said first and second sections, each of said first and second sections having an upright spacer member fixed at a position remote from their respective hinged edge so that said wheels are located between said spacer member and said hinged edge, thereby said wheels for each section act as a fulcrum when said foot lever is depressed and brought in contact with the respective top and edge surface of said second section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 637,650 Northrop Nov. 21, 1899 1,000,199 Sautter Aug. 8, 1911 1,785,343 Gilbert Dec. 16, 1930 

